Keeping up with the Haines's

Now that half of my family is marked up with ink, I've been thinking about joining the crowd. The question is, what kind of manly tattoo would I want to get? I was thinking about getting something that demonstrates the pride I have for my Native American heritage (1/16 Cherokee), so I checked out some designs that are available for that. Cathy suggested that I check out the lead singer of the Red Hot Chile Peppers because he has a nice Native American eagle that spans the width of his shoulders and I think that it would look great on my bony shoulders :o/ . It is a pretty neat design, but it's a bit too complicated for someone with conservative tastes like my own.

Naturally, my next thought turned to another source of pride - Liverpool FC. Afterall, it is the most decorated club in the English Premiership and their fan base is known as being extremely passionate. Anybody who's seen me wake up at 6:45am on a Saturday to go watch a game on TV or who has made the mistake of asking me about their history knows that I'm as hooligan as it gets when it comes to Liverpool Football Club. There is no doubt in my mind that I will always remain true to the club, and so I'm thinking about demonstrating my dedication with a simple design of the Liverbird (at right) and the club's slogan - "You'll Never Walk Alone".

These words have special meaning for both the club and myself (I can almost hear myself talking to the Miami Ink camera crew right now). Before every game, the supporters at the Kop end of the stadium sing the song "You'll Never Walk Alone" to the players as they walk onto the pitch. It's is the rally cry for the team and when the team is getting beat, the fans will again launch into the song in a voice of passionate defiance and dedication. This is the only team in England who have fans that are so passionate, despite what some Manchester United fans say.

On a more personal level, I think that it makes a statement about one of my (in my opinion) greatest attributes - loyalty. This characteristic has kept me in touch with many special people in my life over the years and I owe a lot of who I am to these people, so a small patch of skin isn't too much to ask for.

J. Riley, I honestly don't know if I'm going to do this, but my friends in Peru say that they know a really good tattoo artist in Lima who actually sterilizes his needles...